Then She Was Speechless
by Chana Calderon
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Pub Date Aug 09 2020 | Archive Date Jul 18 2020
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Description
What can children do when their mother asks them to help her die?
Ruth, an extraordinary eighty-year-old with a PhD in the Arts, who has suffered a stroke that left her without the capacity to speak, read, or write, tries in vain to commit suicide.
Dumbstruck, her children realize that their mother’s situation requires 24/7 supervision and they jointly decide to move her into the bosom of the family.
Each one of the children, however, has their own personal problems, and Ruth’s mental and physical deterioration make the whole situation unbearable and explosive.
Bitter, and no longer wishing to endure her incapacitation, Ruth decides she wishes to die, and without words, asks her children for assistance, as her last wish.
When the request becomes a reality, her children face an enormous dilemma — to comply with her last wish or to fight for their beloved mother’s life to the end.
Advance Praise
"Photographer and journalist Chana Calderon's first novel is written with energy and passion and offers an intense read. The chorus of the speakers'voices, their alarm, vitality, slang, black humor, and stream-of-consciousness--all make this book a rich, complex, original, and contemporary family novel."" - Hagar Yanai, Writer and Editor
"A sober view of old age, the toll it takes, and the terribly ironical rift between the betrayal of the body and the alertness of the mind."" - Einat Yakir, Writer and Writing Workshop Moderator"
Available Editions
| ISBN | 9798645047047 |
| PRICE | $3.99 (USD) |
Links
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Laurie P, Reviewer
Ruth is an amazing lady with a strong will and a strong mind. When she has a stroke and is left speechless, she decides "Enough is Enough".
The trouble is how can she explain her wishes to her children? This is a family journey to do the "right" thing or their loved one!
Definitely a story of love, fear, determination, heartache, quality vs quantity and finally acceptance!
Linda F, Reviewer
I've read one other book on this subject and both have left me with questions. I've always believed that when it's your turn to leave this earth, you will die. But, as this story shows, it's not always cut and dry. What happens when you lose the ability of everything other than sight, and hearing. You're surrounded by people taking care of you, no privacy, longing to be able to do the things that brought you joy, and waking each day to the same. How many live in Nursing Homes wanting to end it but there is no way. I recommend you read this detailed story and decide for yourself what you would want but how would you deal with it. Thanks to Net Galley for giving me the chance to read this.
Nancy F, Educator
If you only read one book this year, read this one. This book was written with so much compassion and love. No one wants to be left to figure out what a loved one wants at the end of their life. No one want to struggle to communicate to our families what we want when the quality of our life has degraded to an extent that we wonder how much longer we can go on. The book is full of angst and decisions that no one should have to make on behave of another. It shows us that love has no bounds.
Readers who liked this book also liked:
Jodi Picoult; Jennifer Finney Boylan
General Fiction (Adult), Literary Fiction, Women's Fiction
